All things New

I was having a wander around the Auckland Libraries website on Monday and found something NEW. That's brand new, fresh and extra helpful.

There is a new addition to the New and Recommended option on our top toolbar. Click on "New Titles" and a whole new world of the most recent additions to the library collection opens up before you.

Browse our new titles lists which includes books, CDs, DVDs, audiobooks, downloadable books and more. It is updated monthly, which should give you enough time to read the ones you ordered last month. There is also an option to print out some of the lists (perhaps your school library could do this for you).

We also offer a number of RSS feeds for new titles.
RSS for all new titles: Please see a daily feed of the latest Auckland Libraries titles to hit the library catalogue.
RSS for new titles by category: Please see an alternative selection of new titles lists updated daily, weekly, monthly or bi-monthly. Each comes with an RSS feed.
(Note: Although these lists are on the former Auckland City Libraries website, they contain titles from across the Auckland region.)

So far I have ordered two fiction, two graphic novels and one music CD. It is a wonderfully dangerous addition to our website. Check it out today.

Top 5 for Friday - Snippets from the Book World

It's been a while since I have done this. Surveyed the news from New Zealand and around the world for worthy and quirky snippets which may be of interest. What better way to finish off the week than this.

1. Keep Libraries Free. I am not a particularly political person, but when the Labour Party announced this week it was drafting legislation designed to keep Public Library services free to all New Zealanders, I was prepared to sit up and take notice. “Public libraries play an important role in our communities. They give everyone access to information and improve literacy and reading, and in many communities are the hub of a diverse range of activities. They also play an important role in strengthening those communities." said Party spokesperson Grant Robertson.


2. Authors Join Forces. Look out for a new crime novel due to hit the shelves of the library soon. No Rest for the Dead is the product of 26 of the best writers of the crime, thriller, mystery genre including Jeffrey Deaver and Kathy Reichs.


3. Guests of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2012 will be New Zealand. "So What?" I hear you cry. Actually in terms of publishing things don't get much bigger than this. "Each year, a different country is selected to be the focus of the five-day Frankfurt Book Fair. But it is not just the fair itself which gives New Zealand an opportunity to take centre-stage - we are also expected to develop a year-long programme of events throughout Germany leading up to the fair in October 2012. " (source NZ Herald). A further press release can be found on the Ministry of Culture & Heritage website.


4. Librarians Adapt to meet the needs of the Internet age. While this may not be news to any librarian out there, or to most of our regulars, there are still some people, scarred by childhood experiences of stern sshhhhh-ing who don't know that librarians are adaptable beings. This Reuters article scratches the surface of today's library experience.


5. Real Northland Men Read Books. This was my favourite headline of the week and it comes from the Northern Advocate. Pakotai School invited "real men" to come in and be role models for their students, showing them that reading was "important and a lifelong skill". Rugby players, policiticans and policeman rubbed shoulders with local farmers and businesspeople in what appears to be a very successful initiative. A very simple and practical idea. Well done Pakotai.

Have an awesome weekend everyone. Keep practising your Te Reo.

Best Books of 2010

There are plenty of magazines, newspapers and websites at the moment telling us all what they think are the best books of 2010. If you are a Christmas grinch (or even slightly cynical) you might think that this is a conspiracy plan by the booksellers to give you ideas on what should be in yours (or others) Christmas stockings. Or you could be like me, and welcome the lists with open arms so that I can request my first pile of reading from the Library for the New Year. Here are a few for you to have a look at.


The Sunday Star Times list can be accessed through the Stuff.co.nz website.

The New Zealand Listener Top 100 and the New Zealand Herald Best Books lists can both be accessed through the New Zealand Booksellers website.

Our cousins at Christchurch City Library blog have their own "Simply the Best" list (plus a link through to the New York Times list)

And finally one of our favourites. The Kiwi Guru of books and book news Mr Graham Beattie has plenty of links and lists this month on Beatties Book Blog

Now if someone could just find one of those lists that I have left lying around with vibrant highlighting on it, my Santa stocking could be full on Christmas morning.

Do Boys and Books Mix?

Not according to a study of year 7 boys just done by New Zealand teacher Sheryl White.

"Boys think reading books is for girls, but that reading for information, such as a TV guide, is a useful, masculine activity, a new study shows. The study of Year 7 boys sheds some light on why it's so hard to get boys to read" reads the opening of the report in the Sunday Star Times yesterday.

I would love to read the whole report sometime as it is something that librarians, parents and teachers all struggle with. However a reluctance to read is not restricted to the boys and my personal opinion is that there is a danger (albiet small) that a knee jerk reaction in concentrating on the boys will lead to a future where girls will struggle to find good quality reading material.

My faith in the boys was restored yesterday when a young man (9 or 10) came up to me at a social gathering and asked me if I had any other books like Holes (Louis Sachar) which he has just finished. He said it was the best book he had ever read and he was keen to find more. With our Summer Reading programmes starting up today, it will be a great opportunity to see how the boys and girls of Rodney match up.

Read the full article from the Sunday Star Times here.